Hello, listeners! We’re taking this week off to regenerate a bit. Since we came back, we always knew we would be moving a bit more cautiously through the show to avoid getting too immersed in such heavy topics.

It can be very taxing to produce a podcast every week, both physically and mentally. This is especially true when the topic is as deep and personal as mental health and illness. Sometimes you just have to take little bites 🙂 Anyway, we hope to be back next week! Thank you for understanding!

Unfortunately, I’m still feeling under the weather today. I’ve had a sore throat for nearly three weeks now, and talking just makes it worse. In the interest of getting better, and to make sure Unhinged is the best it can be, we will not be recording the show today.

I know that we haven’t been very consistent with the show lately, but sometimes our mental and physical health has to come first. Hopefully, all will be better for next week and we can get back on track. In the meantime, be sure to visit our episode playlist to catch up on past shows. Thanks for understanding!

Join in on World Suicide Prevention Day

2017 marks the 15th World Suicide Prevention Day. The day was first recognized in 2003, as an initiative of the International Association for Suicide Prevention and endorsed by the World Health Organization. World Suicide Prevention Day takes place each year on September 10.

On September 10, join with others around the world who are working towards the common goal of preventing suicide. Show your support by taking part in our Cycle Around the Globe campaign aimed at raising awareness through community action. Find out what local activities have been scheduled as well – or initiate one yourself!

Finally, if there is anyone you are concerned about, take a minute to check in with them. It could change their life.

Hello Unhinged listeners! Looks like we may be postponing our podcast again this week due to the fact that I (Ed) have a sore throat and cough that just doesn’t want to completely go away. Talking for an hour is likely not a good remedy 🙂 I have been struggling with this for a while now, and though I do feel a little better every day, it’s still hanging on.

Here’s to hoping things get better for next week! Thanks for understanding!

Please note: There will be no podcast this week, as I am celebrating a birthday on Tuesday, Ed is still settling into his new Colorado spread, and most importantly, we need the week to work on some technical issues, to get back to the level of production quality that we’re used to and insist on. Thank you for your support & patience.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is currently the most powerful known treatment for major depression. The technique itself was developed at the Toronto Western Hospital nearly 10 years ago. It was based on research findings by neurologist Dr. Helen Mayberg, working with a multi-disciplinary team that included world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Andres Lozano, our own Clinic’s Co-Director, Dr. Peter Giacobbe, as well as UHN’s Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Dr. Sidney Kennedy. Because DBS can often achieve remission where all other measures fail, the tecnhique is now being used to treat severe depression in advanced medical centres across Canada and around the world.

With DBS, a neurosurgeon implants a pair of electrodes into a small brain structure that is overactive in depression, called Area 25, or the subgenual cingulate. The electrodes stimulate at a high frequency that effectively jams the signals passing through the neural connections in the region. Once the electrodes are activated, many patients experience a rapid and dramatic improvement in symptoms — even patients who have not responded to any other treatment, including ECT. However, DBS remains an experimental technique, available only to small numbers of patients, in medical centres with expert teams of neurosurgeons. It also requires the electrodes to be permanently implanted in the brain and connected to a battery implanted under the collarbone — quite an invasive procedure compared to other treatments for depression. For these reasons, DBS is usually reserved for cases where all other options have failed.

Show #42 will be available everywhere, including at UnhingedPodcast.com, August 15th!

We’ve been on hiatus since March, as Doug has gone through a nasty & long relapse. With the help of the UHN Neuroscience & Neuropsychiatry team, it looks like there has been some signs of improvement, and we’re hoping that Doug will get back to that very good quality remission he’d experienced several months ago. Until the neuromodulator battery died and surgery was performed…and once again leading to a complete relapse.

We’ll get more in detail on his current status with show 42, as well as a couple of hot topics due for discussion, and more. We’re very excited to get things going again full-throttle. We want to thank you, our loyal listeners, fellow advocates and dear friends for being so patient and understanding during the ups & downs. Please know that we’re dedicated & passionate about what we’re doing, and we want to be with you every Tuesday, as we’d done for so long.

So, mark your calendars and don’t miss Show #42, it will be a real occasion for us, and we can’t wait to get back to doing what we do. “See” You Then!

Hello, Unhinged listeners. I know it’s been awhile since we’ve communicated, and even longer since we’ve put out a show. Lots of things have been keeping us from being able to get back into the swing of things.

First and foremost, Doug is still suffering from severe depression and anxiety ever since his DBS battery started dying and needed to be changed. Unfortunately, even after the battery was replaced, his remission has not kicked back in. His doctors are experimenting with different settings and intensities to see if it starts working again. In the meantime, I can only offer words of hope and encouragement to Doug as he struggles to regain a sense of normalcy.

Secondly, all this has been happening during my move out of the San Francisco Bay Area. After 21 years of living in California’s Silicon Valley, my wife and I have decided to move to Loveland, Colorado. Though I still love everything that Silicon Valley stands for, and have many friends there, we felt that it was the right time to leave. The Bay Area has been getting steadily more congested as more people move there, and continues to get more expensive. The time was right to sell our house and move somewhere that has more seasons, less traffic, and is more affordable. It also happens to be much closer to my employer in Golden, Colorado, which is another positive.

The move is complete but we’re still living out of boxes. I’m also waiting for a new desk to be delivered so I can set up my recording studio in preparation for our next show.

Thank you all for being so patient with us as Doug recovers and we get things back in order. We will be back as soon as we can. It’s just taking us a bit longer than expected. Thanks for understanding!

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Unhinged: Talking Mental

We will attempt to publish one audio podcast episode per week. Each episode is roughly around 30-40 minutes in length and published as an mp3 file on this site and on other podcast sources (iTunes, Google Play, etc.)